In the latter 1940s and early 1950s, Piper frequently holidayed in the Nant Ffrancon Valley in Snowdonia. During this period, his subject matter shifted from wartime Neo-Romantic and ruinous architecture to the swooping slopes and ragged cliff faces of Glyderau. Awe-inspired by “nature’s self-made abstract art,” Piper thought that the surrounding landscape was “as fine a brocken spectre and glory as man has ever seen.”

These trips were inspired by Piper's wartime work painting the quarries where the nation's art collections were being stored. For example, see the Government Art Collection's 'Slopes of the Glyders' (https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/slopes-of-the-glyders-29044) or the National Museum Cardiff's 'Rise of the Dovey' (https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-rise-of-the-dovey-231073).

Assisted by guidebooks and geological studies, Piper’s working method saw him begin ‘en plein air’, where he noted the intensity of the mountains’ colours. He would later finesse the works indoors, adding white, red and yellow to a foundation of grey chalk and black ink.

The Glyders, including Tryfan, served as subjects for a significant portion of Piper’s work during this time. Dark, bleak and moody, the style of the works reflected wartime gloom, as well as the isolation and extreme weather conditions in which Piper would work. Piper’s use of varied brushstrokes and layering of surfaces creates a sense of movement and chaos that reflects his own sense of power and humility when engulfed in the landscape.

Piper admired various 19th-century British landscape artists, such as JMW Turner and Samuel Newson, and during this decade of painting, he was able to reflect on and find his own position within British landscape tradition.